Friday, February 12, 2010

Oldest US bicycle roadracing photo I've ever seen...

This is a shot of the field before the start of the Bob Brown 30-mile road race in Berkeley CA in by-God 1947. I recognize a few of the riders' names (but not Bob Brown's) from hearing about them as legends in American cycling history. Long before the bike boom of the early '70s, long before Americans cared much about fitness, long before electronic Dura-Ace.... What a great old shot!

Andrew Ritchie, mentioned in the text, has just completed his second Major Taylor biography, sure to be a tale well told. Here's a link to Jim Langley's blog and a review of Major Taylor, the Fastest Bicycle Racer in the World.

Nineteen-forty-seven. Think of it!

Added later: You wonder if some or many of the guys in the photo had been exposed to road racing while stationed in Europe during WWII. Certainly there was velodrome racing in the States pre-war as the text suggests, but road racing? I think not.

As I put up (on my blog page) links to magazines that feature my work....

...I realized that some do not include my pieces in their online version. I contribute to a UK magazine called Motorcycle Sport and Leisure. MCSL runs a column each month with a photo, a full page, but does not include my page in their online edition.

If you read my blog and are aware of such links, let me know, please. Funny, for years I didn't care about my stuff appearing online. Now I'm disappointed to see that it doesn't....

From the clip 'n' strap crypt

The original drawing, compliments of David Brinton!

You Ride Anyway

David Brinton's Original Cartoon illuminating the story

Flying Hoosiers Hill, 1965

Riding my lovely old Bultaco 200 Matador, I am about to flip over backward on the very steep grade of FH Hill, near Bloomington IN. Had I been a better rider, I would have been the first person to climb that hill on a mere 200... Sigh...

Nelson Ledges OH, 1965, post-race

In this shot taken by a friend, I'm winding down with a cigarette after road-racing my motorcycle on a circuit in northern Ohio. I'd borrowed the leathers I'm wearing, the van I drove to get there and the money I spent to put gas in its tank. I probably bummed that cigarette...

'Mid-'90s, Mavic Motor

At Trenton, NJ, Bart and I provide "neutral" wheel and mechanical support for racers from all teams. We typically follow the breakaway; team support cars are not permitted to enter the gap between pack and break until the gap grows to over a minute...

About Me

I'm living happily in Denver with my wife Tamar. I've been contributing columns to bicycle magazines since 1983 and motorcycle magazines since '85.
These days, my work appears monthly in two motorcycle magazines: CityBike (SF) and Motorcycle Sport and Leisure (UK).